# LCMS Convention Workbook_St. Louis Missouri_2023_S36
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

36

OFFICER, BOARD, AND COMMISSION REPORTS
who provide any supplemental coursework required by the
CCPM and will begin facilitating the Christian Doctrine
entry-level competency exam.

•

reconsider the essay requirement and topics in the context of
other policy changes;

•

reevaluate the current requirement that an applicant have 60
semester hours or 90 quarter hours in a program of study
leading to ordination;

•

Strong interest in and support of the work of the CCPM by
the Synod President.

•

Increasing conversation with the seminary presidents, the
Executive Director of Pastoral Education, and the Chief
Mission Officer about how colloquy intersects with the work
of our seminaries.

•

consider ways to discern accreditation for foreign seminaries;

•

explore better ways to obtain academic records (transcripts)
for graduates of foreign seminaries;

An excellent administrative assistant in the Office of First
Vice-President, who provides a careful initial review of each
application and works very well with the district presidents’
administrative assistants.

•

consider better ways to obtain a positive recommendation from previous ecclesiastical supervisors for applicants
whose previous ministry has been outside the United States;
and

•

consider the increased use of follow-up Zoom interviews for
candidates who have been assigned supplemental readings
or seminary coursework.

•

Weaknesses and/or Challenges
•

•

The loss of the intangible benefits that colloquy candidates
formerly received as a result of the requirement to take
coursework on an LCMS seminary campus as part of the
colloquy process.
The changed funding model for seminary education that
now makes it more difficult for applicants to take supplemental seminary coursework in a long-term residential setting, rather than online, when such coursework is assigned
by the CCPM.

•

The absence of grants to assist applicants with supplemental
seminary coursework that might be assigned by the CCPM.

•

Providing supplemental seminary courses and a sufficiently
broad number of theological texts for colloquy applicants
whose first language is not English.

•

The additional pressure that is put on the colloquy process
when a pastor from another church body begins serving an
LCMS congregation with Word and Sacrament ministry
before applying for colloquy or being assigned a vicarage/
internship by the CCPM (cf. Bylaw 2.5.2).

Opportunities
•

Collaboration with the Synod’s Set Apart to Serve initiative
to explore responsible proactive strategies to encourage pastors from other church bodies who demonstrate great interest in the doctrine and practice of the LCMS to apply for
colloquy.

The Colloquy Committee is honored to serve our Synod in this
important work. We pray that the Lord of the harvest would richly
bless our work for His mission—all so that many more pastors
might be provided to the congregations of The Lutheran Church—
Missouri Synod and countless redeemed might be blessed to hear
that “We Preach Christ Crucified.”
Peter K. Lange, First Vice-President, Chairman

Endnotes
1. See also Bylaws 2.7.2; 2.7.5; 2.8.1; 2.8.2; and 2.9.1.
2. 2013 Res. 4-06A Task Force Report.
3. These two numbers came from two different sources.
4. It is not certain that all who applied to the Korean colloquy program
are included on this spreadsheet.
5. The lower number of applications received might be attributed to
COVID-19 and the pause in the Korean colloquy program as it was formerly conducted.
6. Not all certifications are for the applications that came in during the
corresponding triennium.
7. The lower number of certifications correlates with the lower number
of applications received, both of which may be down for the reasons cited
above.

R2.2

•

Collaboration with district presidents to improve the colloquy process for applicants whose first language is not English (see above).

Colloquy Committee for Commissioned
Ministry

•

Collaboration with the Office of National Mission to improve utilization of the colloquy process for ethnic immigrant ministry and outreach.

Background

Threats
•

A recent decrease in the number of colloquy applications for
reasons not yet understood.

Work Contemplated for the Next
Triennium
During the next triennium, the CCPM hopes to:
•

implement a tool for discerning an applicant’s basic Bible
knowledge;

2023 Convention Workbook

Commissioned ministry colloquy programs prepare men and
women currently serving in ministry roles for membership in the
Synod (Bylaw 3.10.3). In most cases, the nonrostered employees of
The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) schools, congregations, and agencies who apply for colloquy have been trained for
their vocations in non-LCMS colleges and universities. Colloquy
for teachers in LCMS schools dates to the first Constitution of the
Synod, even as the term itself has been in use for pastors since the
Synod’s first Constitution and for teachers since the second (1854)
Constitution.
Today nonrostered teachers comprise the vast majority of colloquy applicants (94 percent during this triennium), though colloquy